Op: Then and Now, Exhibition Statement

By Joe Houston
Columbus Museum of Art, July 6 - September
30, 2007

A vital form of abstraction
emerged internationally in the 1960s. Nicknamed Op Art, this Progressive
“optical” art emphasized the process of vision in exciting, sometimes
disorienting, ways. Unlike Pop Art, which preceded it, Op dispensed
with recognizable imagery and social commentary, allowing the viewing
experience itself to become its primary subject. Characterized by dynamic
patterns, saturated colors, and perplexing spatial perspective, Op Art
encourages us to see with new eyes.

The Op emphasis on
perception dates back to the French Impressionists, who sought not to
mimic nature, but to convey their vivid experience of it. For instance,
George Seurat, desiring to create what he termed a “purely optical formula
for painting,” pioneered the Pointillist technique in which dots of
pure color form new mixtures in the eye and mind of the viewer. An increasing
fascination with optical science and perceptual psychology led to further
innovations in non-objective art in the early twentieth century, culminating
in the Op Art movement.

In the 1960s, Op
became an aesthetic and cultural phenomenon the world over, boosted
by popular traveling exhibitions such as the Museum of Modern Art’s The
Responsive Eye. The participatory
nature of this new painting and sculpture transcended nationality and
education, making it a universal and democratic art form. Among the
Op innovators who garnered early acclaim were the French-Hungarian artist
Victor Vasarely, Japanese-American painter Tadasky, and the Polish-born
Ohio artist Julian Stanczak.

Although now a part
of modern art history, Op Art’s emphasis on the viewer’s experience
remains just as relevant today. Many of its pioneers have continued
to explore perceptual boundaries into the twenty-first century, influencing
a new generation of artists such as Linda Besemer, Gabriele Evertz,
and Peter Halley. Following the Museum’s recent exhibition Optic
Nerve: Perceptual Artof
the 1960s, this gallery
features visually stimulating abstractions created throughout the past
five decades. Seen together in Op Art Then and Now,
these works affirm that the formal and conceptual innovations of the
1960s still provide vibrant tools for artists to manipulate to new ends.